Raiders 2018 NFL Draft: LB Shaquem Griffin turning heads at combine

Faith Castro |Monday, March 05, 2018

2018 NFL Draft scouting report: Shaquem Griffin

On Saturday, Griffin had one of the most impressive showings of any prospect in any event when he had 20 reps on the bench press with a prosthetic hand. The reaction was, by far, the loudest any player has received to this point in the open-to-the-public portion of the testing.

"My goal was six [repetitions]", Griffin said with broad smile. "There's going to be a lot more doubters saying what I can't do, and I'm ready to prove them wrong".

"I got chill bumps watching him do 20 reps". Just being able to do that, that was unbelievable. "Hearing the crowd, having the juices flowing".

"So many people are going to have doubts about what I can do, and obviously, it started at the bench press", he said.

Griffin was born with amniotic band syndrome affecting his left hand, preventing his fingers from fully developing. He was a late addition to the list of combine invitees, getting his formal invitation on January 30.

"It's unbelievable to see how far I've come from not being able to bench the bar to throwing up 20 reps of 225 and being able to compete with the best here", said Griffin, the 2017 American Athletic Conference defensive player of the year.

"It was fantastic, hearing the crowd and having the juices flowing, I mean I felt it", Griffin said. "I still remember doing my first pull-up". He also earned defensive MVP honors in the Peach Bowl in January, which capped UCF's undefeated season with a win over Auburn. The 4.38 40-time would be identical to what Griffin's twin brother - defensive back Shaquil Griffin - ran previous year at the NFL Combine.

Are you kidding me? "I think he did like three".

On Sunday, Griffin will run the 40-yard dash, do some quickness drills and some on-field testing at Lucas Oil Stadium. It's the third-fastest time of the combine, assuming the unofficial time holds.

Whether he recognizes it or not, Griffin has become the story of this year's Combine.

That versatility will continue throughout the draft process as Griffin plans to go through drills as both a linebacker and a defensive back.

He worked out on the defensive line, at linebacker and at safety during the Senior Bowl in January.

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